Bridle

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a horse bridle comprising a headband, throatlatch and headpiece, a mouthpiece bit, and a first rein connected with said mouthpiece bit. Cheekpieces are provided at both sides of the bridle which extend between the headpiece to said mouthpiece bit connected with the first rein. Additionally, there is a noseband and a chinband, and a second rein is connected with this noseband. The bridle also has a martingale, and one of the reins are guided via the martingale and then connected with the other rein, so that when the horse goes in front of the rein, in other words is not being rein-checked the control of the horse at least for the most part occurs via the martingale-guided rein, whereas when the horse is rein-checked the control of the horse at least for the most part occurs via the rein which is not guided via the martingale.

United States Patent Karl lseli, Jun

[72] inventor Near der Reithalle. 8914 Aeugst am Albis/Zurich,Switzerland 211 Appl. No. 14,023 [22] Filed Feb. 2 5, 1970 [45] PatentedSept. 14, 1971 [32] Priority Feb. 28, 1969 [33] Switzerland 31 3295/69[54] BRIDLE 15 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 54/6, 54/36 [51 Int. Cl B68b 01/06 [50] Field of Search54/6, 24, 35, 36, 2

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 65,216 5/1867 Hartman 54/672,831 12/1867 Ferry 54/36 Primary Examiner-Hugh R. ChambleeAttorneywerner W. Kleeman ABSTRACT: There is disclosed a horse bridlecomprising a headband, throatlatch and headpiece, a mouthpiece bit, anda first rein connected with said mouthpiece bit. Cheekpieces areprovided at both sides of the bridle which extend between the headpieceto said mouthpiece bit connected with the first rein. Additionally,there is a noseband and a chinband, and a second rein is connected withthis noseband. The bridle also has a martingale, and one of the reinsare guided via the martingale and then connected with the other rein, sothat when the horse goes in front of the rein, in other words is notbeing rein-checked the control of the horse at least for the most partoccurs via the martingale-guided rein, whereas when the horse isrein-checked the control of the horse at least for the most part occursvia the rein which is not guided via the martingale.

PATENTEU SEP I 4 l97| INVENTOR. mu 2.5a; 3,,

Mn/mum BRIDLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION forth. Likewise numerous arethe types of mouthpiece bits which are used with these bridles, such asrods with or without I chains, especially chin chains, chains alone,snaffle bits, curbs, and recently the so-called Thiedemann rod, and thelike.

Now all of the previously known bridles are associated with the drawbackthat they only act upon the lower jaw as well as the eyeteeth andcorners of the lips of the horse. With many young horses and all of thehigh-spirited horses such causes pain or pressure against which thehorses readily tends to buck because the of stubbornness orpanic-stricken fear, and therefore, will not obey the rider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a new and improved bridle which effectivelyovercomes the aforementioned drawbacks.

A further significant object of the present invention relates to a newand improved bridle which is more comfortable for the horse to wear,does not result in pain to the horse during riding thereof, and stillallows for adequate control of the hor- 1 ses by the rider.

Now, in order to implement these and still further objects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the invention bridle is of the type incorporating a headband,throatlatch and headpiece, with cheekpieces at both sides of the bridleextending to the mouthpiece bit which is connected with the one rein.The bridle also has a noseband and chinband. Now according to animportant aspect of the invention a second rein is arranged at thenoseband, with one of the reins initially being guided via a martingaleand thereafter being connected with the other rein. The entirearrangement is such that when the horse move in front of the rein, inother words is not being rein-checked, the control of the horse at leastfor the most part occurs via the martingale-guided rein, whereas whenthe horse is reinchecked the control of the horse at least for the mostpart occurs via the rein which is not guided by means of the martingale.

Now the second rein can be directly secured. to the.

noseband. However, it is advantageous to arrange at both sides of thenoseband, in each case, a bandpiece, at the ends of which the secondrein is arranged through the agency of a respective ring member. Thesering members are preferably additionally supported via a respectivecheekband. The cheekbands support the ring members at the height of themouthpiece bit, for instance a snaffle. It is also desirable if the ringmembers are situated somewhat lower than the mouthpiece bit.

The cheekbands which are preferably provided for the rein of thenosebands can be advantageously adjustable in length and directlysecured to the cheekpieces for the bit. However, 7

In order to accommodate the bridle to every horse, it is advantageous ifat least one of the reins is constructed to be adjustable in length. Soas to achieve the desired guiding of the horse, in the one instance atthe noseband and in the other instance at the mouthpiece bit, it isparticularly advantageous if the martingale is situated low.

The invention bridle is based upon the recognition that horses whichrefuse to move rearwards,"canonly be held by the hand at the nose andmust be guided in order to cause them to move rearwards. The inventivebridle resultsin completely new possibilities.

It is possible to now guide the second rein, the noseband rein, via themartingaleand thefirst rein, the snaffle rein, directly to the hand ofthe rider. In this instance, the inventive bridle is especially suitablefor riding vigorous, sensitive, hand shy or nervous horses whichnormally like to have their head over or past the reins and which buckagainst their guiding or control at the mouthpiece bit, that is to say,at the first rein, the snaffle rein. By means of the noseband rein suchhorses can again be softly rein-checked due to the slight actingpressure upon the nose.

A further possibility resides in the fact that the first rein, thesnaffle rein, can be guided via the martingale and the second rein, thenoseband rein, directly to the hand of the rider. This bridlearrangement is especially suitable for the-breakingin of inexperiencedhorses. Such horses are not yet familiar with the uncomfortableaction ofthe snaffle rein, do not buck against such, rather tend torelease theunpleasant pressure of the snaffle rein upon the. mouth in that theylower the head. With the bridle of the invention the unpleasant pressureof the snaffie rein, upon lowering of the head of the horse, istransformed into the comfortable pressure which is exerted by thenoseband, that is to say, the noseband rein upon the horse. Horses tendto automatically assume theposition of the head which is mostcomfortable. Hence, the relationship of the noseband rein and thesnaffle rein is advantageously regulated with respect to one another insuch a manner that the horses with the correct head position are notexclusively guided at the noseband rein, rather also there is present aslight guiding or control of the horse at the snaffle rein. Theinexperienced horse therefore learns in a very gentle manner the correcthead position and guiding at the rein. Also difficult horses can bepositively trained in this manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be better understoodand objects other than those set forth above, will become apparent, whenconsideration is given to the following detailed description thereof.Such description makes reference to the annexed drawing wherein:

FIG. I schematically illustrates the inventive bridle with the horsebeing checked at the rein; and

FIG. 2 illustrates the position of the bridle when the horse refuses toobey and moves in front of the bridle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Describing now the drawing, thebridle depicted in the figures will be seen to encompass a headpiece 1which is supported via a headband 2 and a throatlatch 3. Cheekpieces 4are arranged at the headpiece l to both sides of the bridle, that is,the head of the horse, and at the lower ends there is secured by ringmembers S'the mouthpiece bit, preferably a snaffle. A first rein 7 isarranged at the ring members.

Continuing, it will be recognized that further cheekpieces 8 extend fromthe headpiece l, at both sides at the head of the horse, to the regionofthe mouthpiece bit 6 and at this location support a noseband 9. Situatedopposite the noseband 9 is a chinband 10 which is snapped below the bitabout the chin of the horse in order to prevent excessive opening of thehorse's mouth.

Furthermore, at each side of the headpiece I there is'arranged arespectivefurther cheekband 11 which extends approximately to the heightof the mouthpiece bit 6, preferably somewhat lower, and in each instancecarries at a ring member 12 a bandpiece 13 connected with the noseband9. Additionally, a second rein 14 is secured to the ring members 12,which initially is guided via a low-situated martingale l and thereafteris united with the first rein 7. In the exemplary embodiment illustratedthe second rein 14 is constructed to be continuous and somewhat strongerand extends to the hands 16 of the rider, since this second rein, musttransmit a greater tension force than the first rein 7 when the horse isreinchecked. However, it is also possible to construct the first rein 7so that it is continuous and of the same strength and extends to thehand 16 of the rider, similar to the second rein 14 just considered. Inthe first case the first rein is connected with the second rein and inthe second case the second rein is connected with the first rein. Tothis end there can be advantageously employed spring safety hooks orsnap hook and eye means 17. In contrast to the illustrated embodiment,instead of the second rein 14, also the first rein 7 can be guided viathe martingale 15, as already has been described heretofore.

The reins 7 and 14 are constructed or arranged in such a manner thattheir length ratio with respect to one another can be adjusted. Such canbe undertaken, for instance, in the provision of suitable buckles at oneof both reins, such as the buckle arrangement 30 shown at the throatlatch 3 and the cheekbands 8, 11, or by arranging different eyelets 31which are distributed over the length of the continuous rein and withwhich there can be hooked or engaged the spring safety hook 17.

FIG. 2 illustrates a vigorous horse tending to escape the pressure pain.In so doing, it is guided back into the normal position by the secondrein l4 guided by the martingale 15, the second rein 14 being disposedat a steep angle between hand I6, the martingale l5 and the noseband 9.Because of this steep angle the first rein 7 acting upon the bit 6 isrelieved, and the horse does not feel any pressure or pain upon the jaw.If the horse again moves slowly at the rein, in other words isrein-checcked, as shown in FIG. 1, then the angle between the noseband9, the martingale 15 and the bands 16 becomes flatter and the first rein7 acting upon the bit 6 again becomes effective in a soft transition.The rider can thus ride the calmed horse normally at the bit.

Every difficult horse can thus be trained quietly and without force. Ifthe horse struggles against the pressure at the bit and throws its headhigh, then in a very gentle transition it will be immediately guideddownward via the second rein, the nose rein 14, at the nose into thenormal position. By selecting the adjustment of the length relationshipof the first and the second reins, it is possible to regulate the bridleto each horse. In order to adjust the rein relationship the horse isadvantageously adjusted at the rein, that is to say, the head of thehorse must be in the vertical position. The following values can be usedas guides for instance.

for breaking-in horses The percent values give, in each instance,represent the efficiency or effectiveness of the individual rein. Thevalues can only serve as reference values since the horses have very different characters, and there must be found for each horse the correctcontrol or guiding, that is to say, the guiding of the first or secondrein via the martingale and the correct selection of thereinrs atipnshpf m v While there is shown and described present preferred embodimentsof the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the inventionis not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied andpracticed within the scope of the following claims.

piece, a mouthpiece bit, a first rein connected with said mouthpiecebit, cheeckpieces at both sides of the bridle extending between saidheadpiece to said mouthpiece bit connected with said first rein, anoseband and a chinband, a second rein connected with said noseband, amartingale, one of said reins being guided via said martingale and thenconnected with the other rein, whereby when the horse moves in front ofthe reins the control of the horse at least for the most part occurs viathe martingale-guided rein, whereas when the horse is rein-checked thecontrol of the horse at least for the most part occurs via the reinwhich is not guided by means of t m rtin ale; r V V 2. A bridle asdefined in claim 1, further including bandpieces arranged at both sidesof said noseband, ring members provided for such bandpieces, said secondrein being con- .nsqtssitq th sr sqba dba p ss via a d ri members- 3. Abridle as defined in claim 2, further including a respective cheekbandfor additionally supporting said ring members.

4. A bridle as defined in claim 2, wherein said ring members aredisposed approximately at the height of said mouthpiece bit.

5. A bridle as defined in claim 2, wherein said ring members red saqssq191?! th nsaiqmsvth i 6. A bridle as defined in claim 3, wherein saidcheekbands sta eredtqshss siaieset-A..-

7. A bridle as defined in claim 6, wherein said cheekbands incorporatemeans foi adj t in g th e l e ngth thereof.

8. A bridle as defined in claim 3, wherein said cheekbands .s ures?ssish s niss z. V.

i 9. A bridle as defined in claim 8, wherein said cheekbands.inslsdsmsan f r. a iss ins 9939 h p 10. A bridle as defined in claim I,wherein at least one of both reins incorporates means for adjusting thelength thereof.

11. A bridle as defined in claim I, wherein both of said reins havecooperating means to enable said reins to be detachably c nssteqtoyeanother:. is

12. A bridle as defined in claim 11, wherein said cooperating meanscomprise snap hook and eye means for detachably EEB.BZEEBEQEQEWHQQEQQEQEI EL. r,

'13. A bridle as defined in claim 2, wherein said second rein isdetachably connected to said noseband and said cheekpieces. H M NH 14. Abridle as defined in claim I, wherein said second rein extends over saidmartingale. 0 V V 7 15. A bridle as defined in claim I, wherein saidmartingale is situated low.

1. A bridle comprising a headband, throatlatch and headpiece, amouthpiece bit, a first rein connected with said mouthpiece bit,cheeckpieces at both sides of the bridle extending between saidheadpiece to said mouthpiece bit connected with said first rein, anoseband and a chinband, a second rein connected with said noseband, amartingale, one of said reins being guided via said martingale and thenconnected with the other rein, whereby when the horse moves in front ofthe reins the control of the horse at least for the most part occurs viathe martingale-guided rein, whereas when the horse is rein-checked thecontrol of the horse at least for the most part occurs via the reinwhich is not guided by means of the martingale.
 2. A bridle as definedin claim 1, further including bandpieces arranged at both sides of saidnoseband, ring members provided for such bandpieces, said second reinbeing connected to the ends of said bandpieces via said ring members. 3.A bridle as defined in claim 2, further including a respective cheekbandfor additionally supporting said ring members.
 4. A bridle as defined inclaim 2, wherein said ring members are disposed approximately at theheight of said mouthpiece bit.
 5. A bridle as defined in claim 2,wherein said ring members are disposed lower than said mouthpiece bit.6. A bridle as defined in claim 3, wherein said cheekbands are securedto cheekpieces.
 7. A bridle as defined in claim 6, wherein saidcheekbands incorporate means for adjusting the length thereof.
 8. Abridle as defined in claim 3, wherein said cheekbands are secured tosaid headpiece.
 9. A bridle as defined in claim 8, wherein saidcheekbands include means for adjusting the length thereof.
 10. A bridleas defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of both reins incorporatesmeans for adjusting the length thereof.
 11. A bridle as defined in claim1, wherein both of said reins have cooperating means to enable saidreins to be detachably connected to one another.
 12. A bridle as definedin claim 11, wherein said cooperating means comprise snap hook and eyemeans for detachably connecting both of said reIns with one another. 13.A bridle as defined in claim 2, wherein said second rein is detachablyconnected to said noseband and said cheekpieces.
 14. A bridle as definedin claim 1, wherein said second rein extends over said martingale.
 15. Abridle as defined in claim 1, wherein said martingale is situated low.